The 2018 Winter Olympics have started! And they totally snuck up on me this time around, which is odd because I see news about it every morning on NHK while I am making breakfast for the kids. Plus I am usually pretty excited about the games. So I was wondering about my lack of interest and what changed within me. But that didn’t last long at all.

I watched the intro that NBC put together which featured Team USA, and after that, I was pumped and excited! I enjoyed the opening ceremonies, especially watching the North and South Korean athletes bring the Olympic flame up to the cauldron together. It was pretty powerful and I felt the tears welling up, even though I am not Korean. I also felt that way watching the Korean Women’s Hockey team take the ice for the first time. It was amazing! Sure, there are a lot of politics woven into the event, but maybe we get a glimpse of regular athletes existing outside of the political arena. One can hope…